Barge Day 1
We slept in a little after our dinner last night.
We had breakfast with John and Ingrid at the Hotel
de Lutece. Packed and checked out at the last
possible minute (noon) and then took a taxi to the Hotel
Regina (of Bourne Identity fame) and checked in our
luggage for the bus ride at 2:15pm. Since it was only
12:40pm or so we scouted out the area for an
internet cafe but didn’t find one. Gary Carroll took
us to the best place for his new diet and we had
Coffee and creme brulee for lunch. We also picked up
some ham and cheese (Jambon and Fromage) sandwiched
for lunch on the bus. After checking everyone in
we were given a debriefing about the trip and got on
a small but comfortable bus (that would hold about
30) and headed south. It was about a 3 hour trip with
two 15 minute rest stops at roadside eateries. We
boarded the Barge Litote at the town of Tonnerre. We
found out we will be taking a much different route
than originally planned because the local area is
having a drought and the farmers have lobbied to use
some of the water that is in the canals where we had
planned to go and so we will be going more on the
river and less on the canals. We boarded, got a
debriefing on all the rules and regulations for the
boat, were introduced to the crew of 7 (one manager,
one pilot, one excursion bus driver, two stewardesses, one chef,
and one deckhand), got shown to our cabins (cozy), unpacked our
luggage, explored the boat, got settled in, had
dinner at 7:30 (excellent scorpion fish with all the
trimmings) and called it a night. John Jensen and
I walked down to the first lock and watched a small
houseboat go through it down river. It was interesting
to watch the process. The technology doesn’t look like
it has changed since the 1700s. We also looked for an
internet cafe or phone I could hook my computer to but
no luck. We found a pay phone but we would need an
acoustic coupler (which I don’t have). So you won’t
get this journal article for a day or two and I don’t know
when you will get the pictures. Will report as soon
as I can.
kws
Peter and Jo Mazula and John and Ingrid Jensen on the bus
View of the Northern Burgundy region from the bus
Table setting before dinner on the Litote (name of the barge)
John and Ingrid and Gary and Lucille Carroll at dinner on the Litote